Sunday, February 12, 2012

New Bars, New Tape

I had those FSA Gossamer bars on hand but I wanted something with a flat top, having really enjoyed that about my previous bars. Instead of the FSA Wing Pro Compact I went with the PRO PLT, a lighter and less expensive alternative. They have less reach and drop compared to the old carbon bars so I ended up with a bit more cable exposed. Whatever.

The Cinelli Jelly feels good; a non-slip grip similar to Lizard Skins. There is no adhesive backing like other Cinelli tape so if you wrap it slightly off it is easily re-worked. It's a durable tape so you can pull it taut without worry that it will rip.

It smells like a pool float and the look of the wrap reminds me of 80s road bikes and their metallic-ish tape. That's pretty cool but not really what I wanted for this bike. On the bare hand it feels very latex-y. It would probably look better on a silver or white bar. Ritchey Red might be iffy. (I kinda want a pair of those bars, though!)

I picked up another Cinelli tape, the Mash Volee in black. It provides the same tacky Lizard Skins-like grip but with more padding than the Jelly. It is adhesive backed but is still extremely workable; the adhesive doesn't crack when stretched. Plus the topographic print is totally me.

The down side is that it doesn't come with shifter backing so I had to cut a bit off the end. For a 44cm bar that could present a problem so ask your shop for some black shifter backs, they'll probably have some laying around.